


musical, round 3

by savrenim



Series: it feels more like a memory [2]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Timelines, musical rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-10-05 13:13:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10308764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savrenim/pseuds/savrenim
Summary: it feels more like a memoryaddresses certain alternate versions of history of how the events of the musicalHamiltoncould have played out. This leads, of course, to the question of, extending over two centuries in the future of these potential alternate histories, what happens in 2008 when Lin Manuel Miranda picks up a giant autobiography in the airport and decides to write a musical about all of this.As entitled,musical, round 3provides information, background, and a partial rewrite of one of these such extensions of a timeline to a musical fromifmlam. This contains spoilers through ch 35 ofifmlam, and it is highly recommended that you do no t read this before having caught up.





	1. Introduction

_Note:_ any differences/conflict in details between the musical and ch 35 came either from interpretation or extrapolation on alternate-timeline-LMM’s part; ch 35 is the primary canon of what happened after Aaron Burr’s death, this does provide canon-accurate details about the trial, though, you can assume it’s as historically accurate as our musical _Hamilton_ is.

Okay, so let’s go.

The musical for the third timeline is not called _Hamilton,_ it’s called _Burr: An American Musical_ , because let’s be real, Burr is the character that it kind of all centers around. Miranda actually read a biography of Maria Lewis Reynolds Clingman Matthew, a tiny historical figure that nobody really cared about, and saw such strength in the story of this woman who had kind of clawed her way out of one terrible abusive situation and another and had potentially saved their entire country with what documents she had managed to preserve (there are widespread modern opinions that one of the only reasons why the world didn’t tip into nuclear war was Aaron Burr’s “clouds of mushrooms will only rain death” making everyone more paranoid about that during the Cold War, which as it seemed to be nonsense it was something that could have been easily lost, so, like, Maria Matthew, legit saved the world if you think that’s important) **—** butbasically the figures that everyone knows from their history classes are “Aaron Burr, the traitor Seer who I guess was a good guy?”, as well as “Thomas Jefferson, the Evil Incarnate President who at least was involved in a super huge scandal with treason.” People have also sort of heard of Madison and Hamilton as “oh Hamilton that dude who was involved in the Jefferson trial?” and “oh Madison that dude who preserved Aaron Burr’s predictions?” _Burr: An American Musical_ is definitely going to change that.

The information that has been left behind that historians are working with are:  
—complete records for each of the trials (treason and impeachment)  
—all of Burr’s papers that he left with Maria, combined with James Madison worked extensively to preserve Burr’s legacy  
—Dolley Madison wrote a lot about this and also worked extensibly with James; Dolley outlives James by 13 years  
—Alexander Hamilton had a shit-ton of letters about his life, quite a bit of this was about post-Burr’s-death action that was taken; he wrote himself an autobiography (that’s, like, a thousand pages because it’s Hamilton), Eliza also helps write a memoir for him because she still outlives him  
—Maria left behind a personal memoir that got published this time around! (But before _Burr_ , everyone totally ignored it, even though it was the best-written of all the memoirs. Nobody wanted to associate that ~whore~ with historical faves, y’know?)  
—Jefferson left behind an autobiography; like his real-life autobiography, he published it in 1821.

So there’s a lot of stuff to work with, and a lot of sides of the story are known.

I think the only other thing you need to know before we delve into this is the casting: Burr, Hamilton, Madison, and Jefferson, are played by the original cast members (Leslie, Lin, Oak, and Daveed respectively), but things are a bit switched up for the women. Maria Reynolds is played by Renée Goldsberry, Eliza is played by Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Dolley is played by Phillipa Soo. Justice Marshall is played by Chris Jackson, Lafayette is played by Anthony Ramos, and I haven’t really cast anyone else in my head, so feel free to imagine anyone you want playing them. You'll also notice in a few numbers there is a "Susan"--that's Maria's daughter, and in this version of the musical there is specifically a 14-year-old child actor who is a part of the cast who exists for the purpose of sometimes looking _really really_ cute and adorable on stage with wide eyes holding Renée's hand while singing her parts. 

There are a feeeew songs where basically no lyrics have been changed? I will note that in the description above them, but I am including said lyrics in this for the people who want to read through the whole thing uninterrupted while trying to imagine it in their head type deal.

Without further ado, presenting _Burr: An American Musical._


	2. Act 1

1.  **Ten Things You Need To Know**

(everyone is dressed all in white except for Aaron, James, Alexander, and Maria. Justice Marshall and Thomas Jefferson are half in their costumes, half in narration white. The entire ensemble does the dramatic thing where they step up into a line in the front of the stage, shoulder to shoulder, just as in the original _Hamilton_  opening on the line "never learned to take your -- time" as they sing:)

[COMPANY]  
_One two three four  
__Five six seven eight nine—_

(they all step back and, Maria, James, and Alexander step through their ranks to stand spread in a line where the ensemble had been)

[MARIA, JAMES, AND ALEXANDER]  
_There are ten things you need to know._

(they break, all whirling away to their places: Alexander and James to different sides of the audience of the trial that the ensemble has set up, which consists of a desk that Justice Marshall is sitting behind, a stand that Aaron Burr is at, and two small sections of chairs to form an audience of the ensemble. This is all on the turntable part of the stage, and is slowly rotating. Jefferson is also in this audience; Alexander is on his side of the divide, James is on the other.)

[COMPANY]  
_Number one!_

[JAMES]  
_I smuggled him the poison at dawn,  
__his face was drawn, fully focused on what—  
__  
_ [JAMES]                                  [COMPANY]  
_He was gonna do.                   Number two!_

[ALEXANDER]  
_The trial commenced shortly after noon,  
__He stepped up to the stand, what he had planned, no one knew—_

[COMPANY]  
_Number three!_

[JAMES]  
_He promised me that he would feel no pain,  
__I wish I could tell you what was happ’ning in his brain  
__He had been so cursed in his political pursuits—_

[JAMES AND COMPANY]  
_That everything came down to such absolutes—  
__Number four!_

[ALEXANDER]  
_Aaron Burr held fast in his position  
__Looking to the world like a man on a mission_

[JAMES]  
_This is a man with unfath’mable ability  
__He threw it all away so Congress had deniability_  

[COMPANY]  
_Five!_

[ALEXANDER]  
_Now I didn’t know this at the time  
__But he had—_

[ALEXANDER AND AARON]  
_Absolute proof that they all lied,  
__Is that why—?_

[COMPANY]  
_Six!_

[ALEXANDER]  
_He’d conducted_ _his defense with such rigor.  
__I thought that this was just another speech he would deliver._

[COMPANY]  
_Seven!_

[JAMES]  
_Confession time: I let him go.  
__I didn’t argue, didn’t stop him, when I could’ve said no._

[COMPANY]  
_Number eight!_

[JAMES/ALEXANDER/COMPANY]  
_His last words, he chose to berate  
__Every Representative, so he could set the record straight._

[ALEXANDER]  
_They won’t teach you this in your classes  
__But look it up, Aaron Burr was wearing his glasses  
__Why? He didn't need them to read,  
__Why couldn't I have noticed anything before the deed--_

[JAMES]  
_I had only one thought before it ended:  
__How could I do this, call myself his friend when--_

[COMPANY]  
_Number nine!_

[BURR]  
(staring straight at Jefferson)  
_Look him in the eye, aim no higher  
__Summon all the courage you require  
__Then count:_

[COMPANY]  
_One two three four five six seven eight nine  
__Number ten! He drinks the vial!_

(lights go dark, single spotlight comes up on Maria, front center stage):

[MARIA]  
_He imagined death so much,  
__planned it before he met me.  
__Obsessed with what he couldn’t see,  
__Entrusted all he saw to me,  
__He saw it coming,  
__didn’t run  
__or even shun  
__his cruel duty—_

 _There is no beat, no melody  
_ _Burr, my first friend, now helplessly—  
_ _I wait for the papers to carry wind of your fate to me—  
_ _You reap what you never had wrought,  
_ _In this moment, what is it that you flee?  
_ _Why should this trial be your legacy?_

(spotlight rises on James, standing to her left.)

[JAMES]  
_Legacy. What is a legacy?  
__It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see  
__You wrote some notes at the beginning of a song  
__That fades to memory—  
__America, the great unfinished symphony  
__You dreamed us free!  
__We could have made a difference,  
__A place where even those not born like us  
__Could leave their fingerprints and rise up—  
__I’m running out of time, as you grow cold,  
__As all your limbs being to seize up—  
__I freeze up, please, just—_

(spotlight rises on Alexander, to Maria’s right.)

[ALEXANDER]  
_I catch a glimpse of the other side  
__Laurens leads a soldiers’ chorus on the other side  
__My son is on the other side  
__He’s with my mother on the other side  
__Washington is watching from the other side_

_Teach me how to say goodbye_

_Aaron, Aaron, please just—_

[MARIA]  
_He chose his own time.  
__We’ll see him on the other side._

[MARIA, JAMES, AND ALEXANDER]  
_Raise a glass to freedom..._

[COMPANY]  
_The doctor says that he has died!_

[ALEXANDER]  
_Wait!_

(the trial scene is cleared from the stage as James sings his next lines:)

[JAMES]  
_It's done before it can begin.  
__The whole courtroom is quickly ushered away.  
__They clear his body from the floor.  
__I get a drink._

[ALEXANDER]  
_Night by night I cannot sleep._

[MARIA]  
_I keep my promise, I just hide._

[JAMES AND DOLLEY]  
_We wonder if he ever realized  
__We weren't by his side when he died._

[JAMES]  
_Death doesn’t discriminate  
__Between the sinners and the saints,  
__It takes and it takes and it takes.  
__History obliterates  
__In every picture it paints  
__It paints him with all our mistakes._

 _When dearest Aaron made his sacrifice,  
_ _Our nation may have henceforth survived;  
_ _I wonder what we'll pay for it?  
_ _We survived, but we'll pay for it._

[MARIA]  
_Who'll be the villain in our history?  
__Of all the futures he could see--  
__I should have known,  
__I should have known the world was cruel enough  
__To rip Aaron Burr from me._

[MARIA, JAMES, AND ALEXANDER]  
_The world was cruel enough  
__To rip Aaron Burr from me._

2.  **Aaron Burr.**

This is, of course, the  _Alexander Hamilton_ number of the show. Historical background needs to be introduced, as who walks into this sort of musical knowing everything about the period, certainly not all first-time listeners. In the hopes of this being timely, I did not manage to re-write the entire song, but I’ve done bits and snippets so you get an idea of what it might sound like. As Aaron here is already dead, it serves just as much to introduce the characters introducing Aaron than it does to introduce the man himself. Everyone's first paragraph (sans Maria's) is about how they first met Aaron.

[MARIA MATTHEW]  
_How does a master lawyer, famed politician and  
__martyr_ , …  
…. _abandoned by the public,  
__Prevent the collapse of our Republic?_

[JAMES MADISON]  
_Our young star, Burr,  
__Followed the footsteps of his father,  
__Got a lot farther by working a lot harder  
__By being a lot smarter  
__By being a self-starter  
__By sixteen, he’d graduated Princeton’s foremost scholar_

Also much like how in  _Hamilton_ , the order that the actors sing the narration part is the same order that we are introduced to the characters, the next verse is sung by Alexander, Eliza’s “When he was ten his father split” goes to Dolley (so yay, same actress!), I also really like the whispered line of  _And Alex got better, but his mother went quick_  going to  _Madison went better, but the trial went quick._

Other snipers that I have in my head are:

 _When America sings for you  
_ _Will they honor or curse your name?  
_ _Will they know you rewrote the game?  
_ _The world will never be the same, oh—_

As well as:

[ALEXANDER]  
_Me? I fought with him._

[JAMES]  
_Me? I’d guide his plans._

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_Me? I trusted him_

[JAMES & DOLLEY & ALEXANDER &ELIZA & MARIA]  
_We all loved him._

[MARIA]  
_But I — made sure no one forgot him._  

 

**3\. Working Title: Mrs. Clement, Ma’am**

[JAMES]  
_Pardon me, are you Mrs. Clement, Ma’am?_

[MARIA]  
_I suppose that makes you Mr. Madison?_

[JAMES]  
_I am._

Basically, James goes over to Maria, they have a pleasant exchange, he gets the documents, it possibly even features Susan being cute because having a cute kid on stage is the best.

**4\. For What Remains**

James Madison opens the letters Aaron left for him, crying ensues. I’ve recorded a quick sketch of what this sounds like; instrumental track came from here: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQIky_pT4U4>

And you can listen to a mock-up of me singing it it here, can you tell that this is _not my key_ , but it’ll give you an idea of how the layering works in the second verse: <https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9FZw0gRm_iFQzhORzRqY0ZIQU0> 

(James sitting to the left side of the stage at a desk, this is the only place lit, holding a letter, reading from it. A spotlight slowly rises on right side of the stage, where Aaron is standing)

[AARON]  
_My dearest Jemmy,  
__What to say to you?  
__To save us all,  
__I’ve taken my own life,  
__If I might  
__Ask you one more favor, dearest friend:  
__Please don’t let this be the end._

_I’ve dedicated every day, but you  
_ _Deserve much more  
_ _Than what I’ve left behind—  
_ _You might find  
_ _Time is too relentless to control,  
_ _And I could not change my role._

_But I leave you now with our new nation,  
_ _Know I believe in you,  
_ _And what you choose to do.  
_ _In protecting our untried foundation,  
_ _I pass it on to you,  
_ _I leave the world to you,  
_ _I’ll live on in what remains.  
_ _I pray, I pray,  
_ _You don’t grieve for what remains._

[JAMES]                                            [AARON]  
_Oh, Aaron,                                        My dearest Jemmy,  
__I can barely comprehend,             what to say to you? To save us all,  
__dear friend,                                      I’ve taken my own life,  
__What have you done?                   If I might—  
__After all you’ve given  
__you’d believe  
__That there’s any more  
__you must achieve?  
__Oh, Aaron please                         I’ve dedicated every  
__don’t try to make amends,           day but you deserve much more  
__my friend,                                       than what I left behind,  
__You’re not at fault                         You might find  
__For what they stole,                     Time is too relentless to control  
__That I could not                             And I could not  
__change your role.                         change my role._

[JAMES]  
_I thought that you’d be around_ —

[AARON]  
_—and now that I’m not around_

[JAMES]  
_I’m left with what you wrote down for me.  
_ [AARON]  
_Take all of what I wrote down for you._

[JAMES]  
_I’ll do whatever it takes_ —

[AARON]  
_—you pay for all my mistakes_

[JAMES AND AARON]  
_To change the world like we dreamed we’d do._

[JAMES]                                         [AARON]  
_But you’ve left me here             But I leave you now  
__with our new nation,                  with our new nation,  
__Though I believe in you,          Know I believe in you,  
__And what you                               And what you  
__chose to do.                                   choose to do.  
__In protecting                                 In protecting  
__our untried foundation,              our untried foundation,  
__With what you had to do,             I pass it on to you,  
__The world you                                   I leave the  
__had to lose,                                     world to you,  
__Now these words are                        I’ll live on in  
__what remains.                                 what remains.  
__Today, today,                                    I pray, I pray,  
__I will cling to                                   You don’t grieve  
__what remains.                                for what remains._

[JAMES]  
_Today, today  
__I will cling to what remains_

(Light fades from Aaron as Dolley walks onto the stage, and puts her hands on James’s shoulders. He looks up; they have a silent exchange, then he stands with her and exists stageleft. The desk is cleared from the stage as the lights go dark.)

5\. **The Story of Tonight**

My headcanon is that the tiny nameless priest is played by Thayne Jasperson (the original Samuel Seabury). Everyone begins on the right side of the stage, gathered around a black casket with flowers and a small white cross above it. This is the only side of the stage that is lit. The priest is standing behind the casket with a bible in his hand; Maria, James, and Dolley are downstage from him facing partially towards him.

[PRIEST]  
_Though we have gathered in our sorrow._

[JAMES/MARIA/DOLLEY]  
_Though we have gathered in our sorrow._

[PRIEST]  
_We celebrate a noble life._

[JAMES/MARIA/DOLLEY]  
_We celebrate a noble life._

[PRIEST]  
_And when we face our new tomorrow..._

[JAMES/MARIA/DOLLEY]  
_And when we face our new tomorrow..._

[PRIEST]  
_Commemorate the good tonight._

(Dolley, James, and Maria circle down to the right side of the stage as lights softly rise there, all while singing;)

[MARIA]  
_I'll raise a glass to that tonight._

[JAMES]  
_I’ll raise a glass to that tonight._

[MARIA]  
_Let’s have another round tonight._

[JAMES]  
_Raise a glass to Aaron,  
__Pray that he will never fade away,  
__Pray that we all remember._

[MARIA]  
_Say a prayer for the fleeting time,  
__And the dreams that he left behind--  
__All that he passes on to us_

[JAMES, MARIA, DOLLEY]  
_And we will keep him in our sight._

[JAMES, MARIA, DOLLEY]  
_Raise a glass to Aaron--  
__Know that he will never fade away_

[MARIA]  
_Know that we'll all remember._

[JAMES]  
_Let’s have another round tonight._

[DOLLEY]  
_Know that despite the passing time_

[JAMES, MARIA, DOLLEY]  
_Or the dreams that he left behind_

[JAMES AND DOLLEY]  
_We will continue in his fight._

[MARIA]  
_Raise a glass to Aaron_

[JAMES AND DOLLEY]  
_Let's have another round tonight_

[MARIA]  
_Raise a glass to Aaron_

[JAMES AND DOLLEY]  
_Cherish his story now—_  

[FULL ENSEMBLE]  
_Tonight_

**6\. Hamilton Gets A Number**

This is definitely a My Shot-esque number, Alexander Hamilton talks a little bit about himself and how he’s a big-shot lawyer and very upset that Aaron died and has never backed down from something before and he’s not going to give this up now, things that are supposed to come across in this number are:  
        —Hamilton is Very Very Stubborn and Obsessed With This Goddamnit and channeling anything that might be grief into anger and just _working on this  
_         —To the point of ignoring his family  
        —He isn't over Philip having died either but he's also not going to think about his feelings for that  
        —He maybe feels a little bit guilty for Aaron’s death  
        —He maybe feels a lot guilty for Aaron's death  
        —He views everything that's happened as a Gross Miscarriage of Justice and goddamnit, he's going to correct it. 

Picture it tune and beat-wise very much like My Shot, that’s a good song and deserves to be in this show.

**7\. Marshall Gets A Number**

This is basically the “Right Hand Man” of the show, Marshall has been desperately trying to curb Jefferson's power from what he can do as Chief Justice, which honestly isn’t that much, Marshall still thinks that Jefferson should be impeached for what went down with the Burr trial, and, well, it turns out that Hamilton is willing to help.

**8\. Jefferson Gets A Number**

He’s messing up the country and kind of really needs a bit of help running it, but hey, at least he’s doing it with style and all of Congress is under his thumb, right? And wow, wouldn’t things be better if his best friend came and was Secretary of State…

**9.  Congratulations**

So _Congratulations_ was a number in the Off-Broadway production, as well as a version was included in the mixtape; if you want to listen to the original, you can here: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQh-7-PNgoU> . I recorded a version of this musical’s Congratulations because I gueeeeess there are parts where the music goes a bit differently and the basic rule is that when there is a song that isn’t in the general musical or has been edited from it, I’m recording it for you, so congratulations, here you go: <https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9FZw0gRm_iFSUFaRS10aGFVNTA> (and credit, of course, to the instrumental, which comes from here: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpI-W6PusW8>)

[JEFFERSON]  
_James—_

[JAMES]  
_Mr. President:  
__Congratulations.  
__You have invented a new kind of stupid  
__A 'damage you can never undo' kind of stupid  
__An 'open all the cages in the zoo' kind of stupid  
__'Truly, you didn't think this through?' kind of stupid._

_Let's review:_

_You took a rumor produced by your own mad delusions  
_ _and extended it by creating an affair of which no one assumed, a coup—  
_ _You could have talked to me, you refused to!  
_ _So scared of what your enemies will do to you  
_ _You're the only enemy you ever seem to lose to  
_ _You know how you could’ve just done want you want?  
_ _You don’t create a monumental scandal where there was none!  
_ _So yeah, congratulations!_

[JEFFERSON]  
_James—_

[JAMES]  
_You've redefined your legacy  
__Congratulations_

[JEFFERSON]  
_It was an act of political sacrifice!_

[JAMES]  
_Sacrifice?  
__I raised Aaron Burr since he was a small boy,  
__I’ve known him for nearly forever.  
__So forgive if I’m asking,  
__‘God what did you do with his life,  
__and where will it get us?’  
__Not to mention the damage that this trial has done,  
__The precedent you have set when there should have been none,  
__What do you expect me to do?_

[JEFFERSON]  
_James—_

[JAMES]  
_I'm not here for you  
__I knew dear Aaron like I know my own mind,  
__You will never find anyone as loyal or inclined  
__To assist us in our purpose, and yet you would be so blind—  
__I can’t stand by,  
__Do you know why?_

_I made a promise before he gave up his life,  
_ _That I’d choose this nation over my pride, every time!  
_ _Aaron Burr  
_ _Was a better man than you.  
_ _Never lose sight of the fact  
_ _That he was ready to die to protect you._

_Congratulations  
_ _For the rest of your life  
_ _You can live with the fact that  
_ _My best friend died to save your foolish hide._

_Congratulations._

**10\. Take A Break**

Time to return to our favorite narrator, Maria! The stage does its cool turn-y thing as on one side, Susan is sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor surrounded by large books, and Maria is at a desk, writing. Susan begins singing in French, sometimes mispronouncing the words:

[SUSAN]  
_Un deux trois quatre  
__Cinq six sept huit neuf_

_UURGH! Un deux trois quatre  
_ _Cinq six sept huit neuf  
_ _Sept huit neuf—  
_ _Sept huit neuf—_

_One two three four five six seven eight nine!_

[MARIA]  
_My dearest Aaron,  
__Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow  
__Creeps in this petty pace from day to day  
__I trust you’ll understand the reference to  
__our favorite Scottish tragedy  
__con’sidring that you read us the play._

_Susan’s growing up,  
_ _she lost another tooth  
_ _I know you’d be proud  
_ _of how she vowed to  
_ _grow it again._

_Madison took your letters.  
_ _Jefferson never paid.  
_ _The country keeps on running,  
_ _not so different day to day._

(spotlight rises on Aaron, standing on the stairs, dressed in all white)

[MARIA AND AARON]  
_And I forget that you’ve gone away,  
__Did you have to throw your whole life away?_

[MARIA]  
_Thoughts of you subside,  
__and I think it’s getting better,  
__but I cannot put the notion away._

[AARON]  
_Take a break._

[MARIA]  
_I imagine you here._

[AARON]  
_I suspect that Susan’s getting hungry,  
__you oughtn’t make us wait_

[MARIA]  
_Is it sad that sometimes I save you a plate?_

[AARON]  
_Ms. Clement—_

[MARIA]  
_Okay, okay—_

[AARON]  
_Your family exists here and now.  
__There is nothing to cry about.  
__Your future is secure.  
__Don’t look to me, look to her._

[SUSAN]  
_Mommy, mommy look!  
__I did my chores,  
__I finished early,  
__I even cleared up so  
__you wouldn’t have to worry._

_And I’ve— been studying too  
_ _So I can go to school like  
_ _Aaron wanted me to do!_

_I practice French  
_ _and work on my pronunciation,  
_ _I’m getting really good at chart memorization  
_ _Aaron would be proud of me,  
_ _Don’t you think?  
_ _Un deux trois quatre cinq!_

[AARON]  
_Your future’s here._

[MARIA]  
_Yes, well yours was too._

[AARON]  
_The world had everything it needed,  
__and that did not include—_

[MARIA]  
_Aaron, our lives are missing something huge._

[AARON]  
_This is a better life for your daughter.  
__You must know I tried  
__I did love you so,  
__But Maria, I died—  
__You must let me go._

[MARIA]  
_Then why can’t I make you go away?_

_My Dear Departed Aaron,  
_ _I flirt with Dr. Matthew,  
_ _He’s not a certain someone  
_ _but he is a decent man._

_I wish that you could meet him.  
_ _He’s clueless but he’s honest  
_ _And quite the proper gentl’man—  
_ _You told me move on if you can._

_These letters that I write to you week after week,  
_ _I swear that all I want to do is clear my mind.  
_ _You changed our lives so,  
_ _Did you intend it?  
_ _Now my family—  
_ _Well, it isn’t solely mine._

_You’d say_

[MARIA AND AARON]  
_My dearest Maria_

[MARIA]  
_When it’s quiet, I still hear it.  
__You’d call me_

[MARIA AND AARON]  
_My dearest Maria._

[MARIA]  
_Anyway that is to say:_

_We stayed at home all summer,  
_ _We’ve been careful to stay quiet  
_ _But if you wouldn’t mind it,  
_ _We’d like to visit your grave._

_I know it’s a bit silly but  
_ _We never got to grieve you,  
_ _I left Sue home for the funeral,  
_ _And she’s sad she missed the wake._

[MARIA AND AARON]  
_I want to say what I couldn’t say,  
__There’s so many things that I want to say._

[MARIA]  
_Anyways, I’ve got to go,  
__I’m picking Susan up from school today!_

[SUSAN]  
_Mommy!_

[MARIA]  
_My darling!_

[AARON]  
_The Clement family._

[MARIA]   
_Aaron — this should have been your place._

[AARON]  
_Maria, you always knew I couldn’t stay  
__With her and you forever._

[MARIA]  
_You didn’t say in your deal  
__That I’d grow feelings I couldn’t sever._

[AARON]  
_You weren’t supposed to care._

[MARIA]  
_Yeah, you did a great job with that there._

[AARON]  
_Maria, you must let me go—_

[MARIA]  
_I can’t let this go—_

[AARON]  
_Let me go—_

[MARIA AND AARON]  
_Take a break._

[AARON]  
_You know you have to let me go, move on and—_

[MARIA]  
_I could help Susan plant flowers  
__when we visit your grave._

[AARON]  
_You’ll lose it all if you don’t cherish what’s not gone._

[MARIA]  
_You know, she thought of you as a father_

[AARON]                                [MARIA]  
_You must know I tried  
__I know we miss your face  
__I did love you so,  
__Screw your courage to the sticking place  
__But Maria, I died—  
__You must let me go._

[MARIA & AARON]  
_Take a break_

[MARIA]  
_And get away,  
__Now that it’s the end of the summer,  
__We can_

[MARIA]                                   [AARON]  
_Visit your grave.                 Visit my grave._

[MARIA]  
_We both want to say goodbye proper,_

[MARIA]                                     
_When you took the time—  
_                                                   [AARON]  
_Look around, look around,  
__at how lucky you are  
__To be alive right now  
_ [MARIA]  
_Well you made your mark,  
__Close your eyes and dream_

[MARIA & AARON]  
_When the night gets dark._

[AARON]  
_Take a break._

[MARIA]  
_I have to protect what you left me.  
__I can’t let anything happen to your mem’ry._

**11.** **Hamilton Refuted** : 

Hamilton comes to the Madisons to try to get whatever documents he needs from James to pursue his case. Unfortunately, it is Dolley who greets him at the door. What follows is a mixture of Farmer Refuted and Your Obedient Servant. I’ve got a demo for you so you can see how all the beats fit together: <https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9FZw0gRm_iFUl9IT2NNRDhEVWM>

instrumental for farmer refuted came from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DznrwW_1Rv4>

instrumental for your obedient servant came from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H49Kx-8K888>    

[DOLLEY]  
_Hello, and welcome, esteemed Mr. Hamilton,  
__Don’t stand around in such heat.  
__Might I offer any form of refreshment,  
__Or would you like something to eat?  
__I have many flavors of tea,  
__You surely must stay for a glass  
__This weather, it offers no mercy.  
__Alas, alas…_

[HAMILTON]                                                   [DOLLEY]  
_You’d have me sit down                         Hello, and welcome,  
__and waste time on tea,                                esteemed  
__Well a reckoning is coming,                        Mr. Hamilton  
__Your husband, he needs to                          Don’t stand  
__Hear this,                                                          around  
__It’s hard to listen to you                                in such heat.  
__with a straight face_

_Chaos and lawlessness                             Might I offer  
_ _already haunt us.                                         any form  
_ _Honestly how can you even talk,            of refreshment,  
_ _And what about Aaron?                             Or would you  
_ _Look at the cost,                                       like something  
_ _and all that we’ve lost                                   to eat?  
_ _and you offer refreshments?!_

[DOLLEY]  
_I have many flavors of tea._

[HAMILTON]  
_You’ve stated so eloquently._

[DOLLEY]  
_You surely must stay for a glass._

[HAMILTON]  
_Oh, how considerate to ask!_

[DOLLEY]  
_This weather, it offers no mercy_

[HAMILTON]  
_Could you please hurry?!?_

[DOLLEY]  
_Alas, alas!_

[HAMILTON]  
_If you repeat yourself again I’m gonna—_

[HAMILTON]                           [DOLLEY]  
_Scream—                               Esteemed—_

[HAMILTON]  
_Honestly, look at me, now I need—_

[DOLLEY]  
_Don’t stand around in—_

[HAMILTON]  
_Don’t modulate the key and keep ignoring me!  
__Why can’t you get your husband, God help me, and just forget the tea!_

[DOLLEY]  
_Mr. Hamilton, please!_

[HAMILTON]  
_Ma’am I’d rather see your husband  
__Than have this discussion,  
__Drop the niceties!_

[DOLLEY]  
_Alright then—_

_Mr. Alexander Hamilton:_

_I am not the reason James won’t trust you,  
_ _Must  I ask you now to leave?  
_ _If you’re really interested in my opinion  
_ _I will try to make this short and brief._

_You claim that you’re here  
_ _On account of Aaron,  
_ _Your actions are too fickle to trust.  
_ _Need you an itemized list  
_ _Of all your choices that estranged him?_

[HAMILTON]  
_I swear, ma’am—_

[DOLLEY]  
_No, I must!_

_I have not been rude  
_ _I did not intrude  
_ _On this afternoon, another’s solitude.  
_ _I wish you no ill will  
_ _So perhaps apologize  
_ _Sit down, and eat your fill!_

_Now will you please take some tea,  
_ _And perhaps some refreshments,  
_ _Hamilton?_

[HAMILTON]  
_Careful how you proceed, good ma’am  
__Surely, you must concede, good ma’am  
__That legal action is necessary  
__So our land might stay free, good ma’am_

[DOLLEY]  
_Sir, there’s no disaster imminent,  
__I stand by what I said, every bit of it.  
__My husband’s choices are his own,  
__Regarding you—  
__He thinks that you’re a scoundrel.  
__Frankly, I do too._

[HAMILON]  
_Well, frankly, Mrs. Madison,  
__I won’t leave this house  
__Until I’ve said my piece,  
__To your spouse._

[DOLLEY]  
_Get out!_

[HAMILTON]  
_No, wait, I’ll please take the tea,  
__Perhaps after you’ll fetch him?  
__My good ma’am_

[DOLLEY]  
_Then sit down!_

**12\. A Gentleman’s Disagreement**

Madison and Hamilton talk, Madison turns Hamilton down. Hamilton storms off, upset, and begins making plans to go to France and attempt to gather enough evidence on his own to convict Jefferson.

**13\. That Would Be Enough**

Eliza walks in on Hamilton packing, everything is strewn about in a mess, she stares at him and he looks like he glares back defiantly, then she sighs, and moves to sit down.

[ELIZA]  
_Look around, look around at how lucky we are  
__To be alive right now  
__Look around, look around…_

[ALEXANDER]  
_Please leave me alone._

[ELIZA]  
_And you’ll just go?_

[ALEXANDER]  
_Eliza, I need to do this._

[ELIZA]  
_Without even letting your family know?_

[ALEXANDER]  
_Oh—_

[ELIZA]  
_And when will you come home?_

[ALEXANDER]  
_I should have told you—_

[ELIZA]  
_Are you sorry?_

_I know that you care  
__about what Burr has done_           [ALEXANDER]  
                                                         _I need to right this  
__wrong_

_But what about your wife, daughter, and sons?  
__Look around, look around at how lucky we are  
__To be alive right now._   

[ALEXANDER]  
_It’s his name—my name—our legacy—  
__I can’t stand the whole world to believe—_

[ELIZA]  
_You think that means you must leave?  
__Look around, look around…_

_Look at where we are  
_ _Look at where we started  
_ _The fact that you’re alive is a miracle  
_ _Just stay alive, that would be enough_

_Just let this rest,  
_ _We all miss seeing your smile—  
_ _It feels like you are never here, to have you back,  
_ _That would be enough_

_I don’t pretend to know  
_ _The challenges you’re facing  
_ _The worlds you keep erasing and creating in your mind_

_But I’m not afraid  
_ _I know who I married  
_ _So long as you come home, please just come home and stay—  
_ _That would be enough_

_You’ve made your own legacy,  
_ _You don’t need penitence.  
_ _If I could grant you peace of mind  
_ _If you could let me inside your heart…_

_Oh, let me be a part of the narrative  
_ _In the story they will write someday  
_ _Let this moment be the first chapter:  
_ _Where you decide to stay  
_ _And I could be enough  
_ _And we could be enough  
_ _That would be enough_

**14\. Hamilton Still Goes To France, Who Is Surprised? Not Me (by Fall Out Boy)**

Maria’s narration in this bit is to be read to the tune/beat I guess of “A Winter’s Ball”.

[MARIA]  
_How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore  
__Go on and on, throw himself into Burr’s phenomenon  
__Watch this obnoxious, arrogant, loud-mouthed bother  
__Crown himself Burr’s posthumous defending lawyer._

_Hamilton straightaway travels across the sea  
_ _In search of the evidence that he is sure he needs.  
_ _Now Hamilton’s skill with the quill is undeniable,  
_ _But for the upcoming battle he’ll be relying on:_

**15\. Lafayette Gets A Number**

It’s a super cool number. Lots of fast rapping. Hamilton’s able to pretty quickly convince him that what happened to Aaron was wrong and what-not, and he agrees to accompany Alexander back on the ship for the trial. This Lafayette is...a bit less idealistic than ours, because he's weathered the French Revolution at this point, and really isn't too down with the idea of people having their heads chopped off literally or figuratively on baseless accusations, so he jumps on this justice train pretty damn hard.

**16\. It’s Quiet Uptown**

We’re back at the Madison residence because everyone likes crying. Staging is very simple; Dolley and James in the center of the stage, the ensemble sometimes walking around them, and Aaron, when he sings, is to the very front left of the stage, by the stairs.

[DOLLEY]  
_There are moments that the words don’t reach  
__There is suffering too terrible to name  
__You hold your loved ones as tight as you can  
__And push away the unimaginable  
__The moments when you’re in so deep  
__It feels easier to just swim down_

[AARON & ENSEMBLE]  
_The Madisons move out of town  
__And learn to live with the unimaginable_

[DOLLEY]  
_He spends hours in his study,  
__Aaron’s papers stacked up from the floor.  
__It’s quiet ‘round this house,  
__It was a peaceful quiet before._

_We go to the nearby church every Sunday,  
_ _A sign of the cross at the door.  
_ _And we pray.  
_ _Except it feels so different than before._

[AARON AND WOMEN]  
_If you see them in the street, walking by  
__themselves, talking to themselves, have pity_

[DOLLEY]  
_Aaron, we have finally got out,  
__If only you were around._

[AARON]  
_I have put them through the unimaginable._

[MALE COMPANY]  
_They’ve given up public affairs,  
__The social circles that were theirs—  
__Instead they keep away from the city._

[DOLLEY]  
_In one fell swoop, you broke his heart._

[COMPANY]  
_Can you imagine?_

[AARON]  
_Look at where you are  
__Look at where you started  
__I know you didn’t deserve this, my dear friends,  
__But hear my words; that would be enough._

_If I could relive time,  
_ _If I could trade their lives for mine,  
_ _I’d still be standing by your side,  
_ _Just so you’d smile, and that would be enough._

[DOLLEY]  
_You can’t pretend to know  
__The challenges we’re facing.  
__Your visions can’t erase what we have lost—  
__Don’t feed me that line._

_I’m not afraid,  
_ _I know who I married.  
_ _And I’ll be standing at his side,  
_ _I’ll make that be enough._

[COMPANY]  
_If you see her in the street, walking by his side,  
__Talking by his side, have pity._

[DOLLEY]  
_James, I do like it out of town.  
__The hills and forests around._

[COMPANY]  
_She is trying to do the unimaginable.  
__See them walking in the park, long after dark  
__Taking in the sights, never admitting—_

[DOLLEY]  
_Look around, look around, my Jemmy._

[COMPANY]  
_She is trying to do the unimaginable._

[DOLLEY]  
_There are moments that the words don’t reach  
__There is a grace too powerful to name  
__We push away what we can never understand  
__We push away the unimaginable.  
__We are standing in our garden,  
__We are always standing side by side.  
__He takes my hand:_

[JAMES]  
_I miss him still now._

[AARON]  
_Acceptance. Can you imagine?  
__Forget me. And let this happen._

[COMPANY]  
_If you see her in the street, walking by his side,  
__Talking by his side, have pity.  
__They are trying to do the unimaginable._

**17\. Wait For It**

(Dolley walks James around to his office, where he settles in a chair. She exists the stage, and the light fades on everyone except James.)

[JAMES]  
_Aaron Burr wrote me a letter every day.  
__He tried to ease the pain for when he’d pass away.  
__He wrote to me when we were parted,  
__Wrote when he was studying in France.  
__Why should death be any different,  
__Not when he knew in advance—_

_Life doesn't discriminate  
_ _Between the sinners  
_ _And the saints  
_ _It takes and it takes and it takes  
_ _And we keep loving anyway  
_ _We laugh and we cry  
_ _And we break  
_ _And we make our mistakes  
_ _And if there's a reason he would decide  
_ _When he could have survived—  
_ _Then I'm willing to wait for it  
_ _I'm willing to wait for it_

_He sat with me when I was dying of yellow fever.  
_ _He read, he sung, he prayed,  
_ _None of his words could reach me.  
_ _Aaron Burr was a genius.  
_ _He commanded my greatest respect.  
_ _When he died, he left just one instruction:  
_ _That our nation, I was to protect._

_Death doesn’t discriminate  
_ _Between the sinners  
_ _And the saints  
_ _It takes and it takes and it takes  
_ _And we keep living anyway  
_ _We rise and we fall  
_ _And we break  
_ _And we make our mistakes  
_ _And if there’s a reason I’m still alive  
_ _When Aaron Burr, in my place, has died  
_ _I’m willing to wait for it,  
_ _I’m willing to wait for it._

_Wait for it—_

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Wait for it  
__Wait for it  
__Wait for it_

[JAMES]  
_I am the one thing in life I can control._

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Wait for it  
__Wait for it  
__Wait for it  
__Wait for it_

[JAMES]  
_He was inimitable,  
__He was an original._

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Wait for it  
__Wait for it  
__Wait for it  
__Wait for it_

[JAMES]  
_I’m not falling behind or running late._

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Wait for it  
__Wait for it  
__Wait for it  
__Wait for it!_

[JAMES]  
_I’m not standing still  
__I am lying in wait_

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Wait—  
__Wait—  
__Wait!_

[JAMES]  
_Hamilton faces an endless uphill climb._

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Climb—  
__Climb—  
__Climb!_

[JAMES]  
_He has something to prove  
__He has nothing to lose_

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Lose—  
__Lose—  
__Lose—  
__Lose!_

[JAMES]  
_Hamilton’s pace is relentless  
__He wastes no time;_

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Time—  
__Time—  
__Time—_

[JAMES]  
_What is it like in his shoes?_

_Hamilton doesn’t hesitate  
_ _He exhibits no restraint  
_ _He takes and he takes and he takes  
_ _If he could win this anyway—  
_ _He’d change the game,  
_ _In playing, he raises the stakes  
_ _And despite all reason,  
_ _I want him to strive—  
_ _This nation must survive—  
_ _But goddamnit—_

_I'm not willing to wait for it.  
_ _I'm not willing to wait for it._

_Life doesn't discriminate  
__Between the sinners and the saints  
__It takes and it takes and it takes  
__And we keep living anyway  
__We rise and we fall and we break  
__And we make our mistakes  
__And if there's a reason I'm still alive  
__When Aaron Burr has died  
__Then I'm not willin' to—_  

_Wait for it..._

[ENSEMBLE]   
_Wait for it...  
__Wait for it...  
__Wait for it...  
__Wait for it..._   

_Wait._

**18\. Our Shot**

Alexander and Lafayette decide to try to convince Madison one more time to come on, pretty please, will you at least give us a bit of what Burr left. This reprises some of the themes from My Shot because wooohooo Hamilton driving the plot-line. 

[JAMES]  
_Geniuses, lower your voices  
__You keep out of trouble and you double your choices  
__I’m with you, but the situation is fraught  
__You’ve got to give this some thought,  
__If you talk, Burr’s sacrifice is for naught._

[HAMILTON]  
_James, check what we’ve got.  
__Mister Lafayette’s testimony, and Sarah Bache’s!  
__I think our chances are hot,  
__Whether you like it or not  
__We’re gonna give Aaron the ending that he ought to have got!_

_What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot?  
_ _Throw out conventional wisdom, this battle’s gotta be fought.  
_ _You’re gonna let Aaron Burr’s legacy be slandered throughout history?  
_ _Nah, gimme a position, I won’t wait in the periphery!_

_Oh, am I talkin’ to loud?  
_ _Well good, this needs to be incited,  
_ _I won’t shut my mouth.  
_ _I know I let Aaron Burr down before  
_ _But now? I’m making him proud._

[JAMES]  
_I’ll see you then, in front of the crowd._

**19\. History Has Its Eyes On You**  

Lafayette exists the stage, Alexander moves to go with him, but pauses at the right side of the stage before exiting fully. James is on the right side of the stage. Dappled lighting does the thing where it rises and slowly spins around the center of the stage, where Aaron is standing. If you’ve ever seen the lighting for _History Has Its Eyes On You,_ it’s exactly the same.

[AARON]  
_I was younger than I can recall  
__When I was struck with visions grand.  
__All I’ve ever seen is massacres;  
__I’ve witnessed your deaths firsthand._

_I’ve made every mistake  
_ _In search of reasons guiding me.  
_ _And I found that there was no escape,  
_ _I found that history had its eyes on me._

[COMPANY]  
_Whoa…  
__Whoa…  
__Whoa…_

[JAMES AND HAMILTON]  
_History has its eyes on me._

[COMPANY]  
_Whoa…  
__Whoa…  
__Whoa…_  

[AARON]  
_Let me tell you what I wish I’d known  
__When my whole life stretched out before me.  
__You have no control:_

[AARON AND COMPANY]  
_Who lives, who dies, who tells your story._

[AARON]  
_You know I made my choice  
__And now what you decide to do—  
__You know that here I have no more voice,  
__You’ll find that history has its eyes on you._  

[COMPANY]  
_Whoa…  
__Whoa…  
__Whoa…_

[AARON, HAMILTON, JAMES, AND COMPANY]  
_History has its eyes on you._

**20\. The World Turned Upside Down**

The light fades on Aaron and James from the previous number, and both exit the stage. Lafayette walks back on, otherwise, the stage is basically clear. What is happening in the course of this number is that Alexander is simultaneously starting a public smear campaign about the Burr trial and non-stop petitioning Congress until finally they agree to hold an impeachment hearing.

[COMPANY]  
_The Impeachment Accusation. 1802._

[LAFAYETTE]  
_Monsieur Hamilton!_

[HAMILTON]  
_Monsieur Lafayette!_

[LAFAYETTE]  
_At the stand where you belong!_

[HAMILTON]  
_How you say, no sweat  
__The truth is finally out, Jefferson had better run._

[LAFAYETTE]  
_Immigrants:_

[HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE]  
_We still get the job done._

[HAMILTON]  
_So what happens when we win?_

[LAFAYETTE]  
_I go back to France  
__Bring Aaron’s writing to my people, if I am given the chance_

[HAMILTON]  
_We’ll be with you when you do._

[LAFAYETTE]  
_Go, ready your pen._

[HAMILTON]  
_I’ll see you on the Congress floor._

[LAFAYETTE]  
_‘Til we meet again!_

(Lafayette exists the stage and the ensemble pours on, carrying a desk and chair to the center of the stage, which Hamilton begins to walk towards)

[HAMILTON & ENSEMBLE]  
_I am not throwin’ away my shot!  
__I am not throwin’ away my shot!  
__We put our trust in this country,  
__Can’t let grief overwhelm me  
__‘Cause I’m not throwin’ away my shot._

_I am not throwing away my shot!_

[HAMILTON]  
_‘Til the world turns upside down…_

[ENSEMBLE]  
_‘Til the world turns upside down!_

(Hamilton dramatically raises a quill and sits down right on the beat)

[HAMILTON]  
_I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory  
__It never seems to get me, so I press on,  
__My legacy ahead of me.  
__Whatever is coming, well, he knew I wouldn’t let it be.  
__I can’t let this stand,_ _Burr’s demand—  
__Never seemed right to me._

_Can’t stop and wonder if Eliza’s expecting me.  
_ _I don’t know what Eliza’s expecting._

_I gotta go,  
_ _Gotta get the job done,  
_ _Gotta clear Aaron’s name,  
_ _Gotta expose everyone!_

(at this point Hamilton is frantically at his desk in the center of the stage writing, handing off papers to various ensemble members who are dancing around him basically in hurricane-form)

_These words are bullets in my gun!  
_ _They’re bullets in my gun!  
_ _I fought tyranny before, yeah, I fought and won!  
_ _And tonight, I take my shot  
_ _To bring a better day.  
_ _I will not let a stray bent thought get in the way._

_Bring the fight to him, seize the moment and stay in it.  
_ _It’s either that or lose our freedom 'n everything we paid for it.  
_ _I write ‘till the light runs low, dig me?  
_ _I’ll air the dirty laundry blow by blow._

_I’ll put the American experiment to test,  
_ _Because these wrongs—they’ve got to be addressed.  
_ _Aaron has suffered too long, I’ve gotta make the scales even._

[AARON & HAMILTON]  
_We’ll never be free without something to believe in!_

[HAMILTON]  
_When the trial’s finally set for a day  
__Lafayette is there waiting—_

(Hamilton dramatically steps up on his chair to say:)

[HAMILTON & LAFAYETTE]  
_Jefferson better pray!_

(before stepping down and away from the desk, which the ensemble begins to clear from the stage.)

[HAMILTON]  
_How did we know that this plan would work?  
__We had a man on the inside. That’s right_

[HAMILTON/COMPANY]  
_Justice John Marshall!_

(who strides in a dignified and commanding manner forward and takes center stage)

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_The Chief Justice sees injustice in this government,  
__I do my sacred duties, took an oath, can’t see it undercut,  
__Yeah, I stand here having sworn a sacred covenant,  
__We’ll see the evidence laid out explicit before judgin’ it._

_That’s what happens when you mess ‘round in my court of law,  
_ _You tampered with the testimonies? Brother, that’s the final straw.  
_ _I’m Justice John Marshall, I need no introduction,  
_ _And Burr’s closed case? We’re openin’ it back up again._

[COMPANY]  
_Let’s go!  
__What! What! What!_

[HAMILTON]  
_After weeks of fighting, Congress gathers, to try Jefferson._

[LAFAYETTE]  
_We gather ‘round, frantically review testimony._

[MADISON]  
_And just like that, it’s starting, the single outcome Aaron would dread._

[HAMILTON]  
_This is the price we pay for our freedom._

[MARSHALL]  
_Not. Yet._

[HAMILTON]  
_We negotiate the terms of the hearing.  
__I see Chief Justice Marshall grin.  
__The editorials are all going wild.  
__There’s no way this will be contained._

_Tens of thousands of people will read the truth—  
_ _My stomach twists, but my heart is singing.  
_ _And as the trial begins,  
_ _I hear Burr’s warnings, ringing—_

[ALL MEN]  
_The world turns upside down_

[FULL COMPANY]  
_The world turns upside down  
__The world turned upside down  
__The world turned upside down  
__Down  
__Down, down, down!_

[LAFAYETTE]  
_Justice in America, justice in France!_

[COMPANY]  
_Down, down, down_

[HAMILTON]  
_Gotta do right by my nation,  
__Gotta right this wrong!_

[COMPANY]  
_Down, down, down_

[HAMILTON]  
_It’s begun!_

[LAFAYETTE]  
_Begun!_

[MARIA/DOLLEY/JAMES]  
_Begun!_

[MARIA/DOLLEY/JAMES/HAMILTON/LAFEYETTE/MARSHALL]  
_Begun!_

[COMPANY]  
_The world turned upside down!_


	3. Act 2

**21\. No John Trumbull**

[MARIA]  
_You ever see a painting by John Trumbull?_  
_Founding fathers in a line, looking all humble_  
_Patiently waiting to sign a declaration, to start a nation_  
_No sign of disagreement, not one grumble_  
_The reality is messier and richer, kids_  
_The reality is not a pretty picture, kids_  
_The courtroom battle that nearly caused us to crumble—_  
_What you 'bout to see is no John Trumbull_

 **22\. Courtroom Battle #1  
**  
if you’ve ever seen clips of Cabinet Battle #1, (there are a number of clips in the PBS Hamilton documentary from it?), this is staged exactly like it. chairs in a semi-circle at the front of the stage with ensemble members sitting in them, Jefferson and Hamilton with microphones.

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_Ladies and gentlemen,_  
_you could’ve been anywhere in the world tonight,_  
_but you’re here with us in our capital city._  
_Are you ready for an impeachment trial?_

 _The issue on the table:_  
_President Jefferson’s accusations leading to Aaron Burr’s death,_  
_and if his actions were severe enough to warrant impeachment._  
_President Jefferson, you have the floor sir._

[JEFFERSON]  
_‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’_  
_We fought for these ideals; we shouldn’t settle for less_  
_These are wise words, enterprising men quote ‘em_  
_Don’t act surprised, you guys, cuz I wrote ‘em_

 _Oww_  
_But Hamilton forgets_  
_I was the candidate our citizens chose to elect._  
_Place your bets as to who impeachment benefits:_  
_The very failing party with which Hamilton sits._

[HAMILTON]  
_Not true!_

[JEFFERSON]  
_Ooh, if the shoe fits, wear it_  
_The prosecuting lawyer suddenly cares for “dearest Aaron”?_  
_Uuuh, you’re motive’s made, I’m afraid._  
_You calling for this trial ain’t even a game well played._

 _Aaron Burr was a traitor, as you found._  
_And now you want to try to flip that verdict around?_  
_This accusation is an outrageous inculpation,_  
_And it’s an insult to the foundation of our very own nation._

 _Stand with me, in the land of the free,_  
_And pray to God we never see Hamilton’s candidacy._  
_When Aaron Burr rebelled, we found him guilty._  
_Imagine what gon’ happen when I paint you just as filthy._

[JUSTICA MARSHALL]  
_Thank you, President Jefferson. Mr. Hamilton, your response?_

[HAMILTON]  
_Thomas. That was a real nice declaration_  
_You’re so full of shit I wonder how you run this nation._  
_You wanna talk treason? ‘Cause I have proof_  
_That you blackmailed Aaron Burr for your own personal use._

 _And when the public knows how deep this goes—_  
_A new tune is playing, doesn’t matter what you’re saying,_  
_How do you not get it? History will not be edited,_  
_The Union gets the truth. All your crimes will be credited._

 _A civics lesson from a slaver. Hey neighbor_  
_We know you’re used to using other men’s forced labor._  
_You think a scapegoat makes you safe?_  
_Yeah, keep dreaming,_  
_The cold hard facts paint you past redeeming._

 _And another thing, Mr. Age of Enlightenment_  
_Being President doesn’t grant you such entitlement._  
_You think I’m frightened of you, man?_  
_I almost died in the trench_  
_While you were off getting high with the French_

 _Thomas Jefferson, always hesitant as the President_  
_Reticent—now that his prescient advisor has been jettisoned_  
_I’ve got Madison with all your secrets on a platter, man, you still gonna grin?_  
_Damn, you’re in worse shape than Aaron Burr ever has been._

 _Sittin’ there useless, you lying shit_  
_Hey, turn around, bend over, I’ll show you_  
_Where my shoe fits_

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_Excuse me?! Hamilton, take a walk! Jefferson, take a walk. We’ll reconvene after a brief recess. Hamilton!_

[HAMILTON]  
_Sir!_

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_A word._

[JEFFERSON]  
_You don’t have the votes_  
_You don’t have the votes_  
_Aha-ha-ha ha!_  
_You’re gonna need congressional approval and you don’t have the votes_  
_Such a blunder sometimes it makes me wonder why I even bring the thunder._

a spotlight rises on Madison across the stage:

[JAMES]  
_Your arrogance will pull you under._

both leave the stage, and spotlight centers on Marshall and Hamilton

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_You wanna pull yourself together?_

[HAMILTON]  
_I’m sorry if his hypocrisy is ruffling my feathers._

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_Young man, you want to win this? Then I suggest you calm down._

[HAMILTON]  
_So we just let Jefferson jerk Congress around?_

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_You need the votes._

[HAMILTON]  
_No, we need bold strokes. We need him behind bars!_

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_Then you need to convince more folks._

[HAMILTON]  
_Well, Madison is backing me, that’s a nice starter._

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_Big talk is easy, young man. Winning is harder._

[HAMILTON]  
_I’ve got the evidence!_

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_Half of them are compromised._

[HAMILTON]  
_Well, then, they’re traitors too!_

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_Accusing them is really not wise._

[HAMILTON]  
_What happens if I don’t get congressional approval?_

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_I imagine they’ll call for your removal._

[HAMILTON]  
_Sir—_

[JUSTICE MARSHALL]  
_Figure it out, Alexander._  
_Preferably before you’re dismissed for slander.  
  
_

**23\. Aaron Burr Left Everyone A Letter, In Case James Was Salty Enough To Do This (by Panic! At The Disco)  
**  
Spoiler alert: James is salty enough.

 **24\. The Parisian Affair  
**  
Which is co-narrated by Alexander, Madison, Jefferson, and Lafayette all telling slightly different versions of it while poor Burr is stuck acting out everything on stage, this is definitely the Room Where It Happened number of the show.

Ends with a bit of a segue of “court is adjourned for the day.”

 **25\. Say No To This  
**  
This is almost identical to our version of Hamilton’s Say No To This; the only real change is in the first verse, which Maria gives instead of Burr.

[MARIA]  
_1791._  
_There’s nothing like summer in the city_  
_Something to remind us that our hist’ry isn’t pretty._  
_There’s trouble in the air, you can smell it,_  
_And Alexander Hamilton insists that he should tell it._

[HAMILTON]  
_I hadn’t slept in a week_  
_I was weak, I was awake_  
_You never seen a bastard orphan_  
_More in need of a break_  
_Longing for a compromise,_  
_Missing my wife_  
_That’s when Miss Maria Reynolds walked into my life, she said:_

[MARIA]  
looking almost annoyed to be parroting this:  
_I know you are a man of honor_  
_I’m so sorry to bother you at home_  
_But I don’t know where to go, and I came here all alone…_

[HAMILTON]  
_She said:_

[MARIA]  
_My husband’s doin’ me wrong_  
_Beatin’ me, cheatin’ me, mistreatin’ me..._  
_Suddenly he’s up and gone_  
_I don’t have the means to go on_

[HAMILTON]  
_So I offered her a loan, I offered to walk her home, she said_

[MARIA]  
practically rolling her eyes:  
_You’re too kind, sir_

[HAMILTON]  
_I gave her thirty bucks that I had socked away_  
_She lived a block away, she said:_

[MARIA]  
_This one’s mine, sir_

[HAMILTON]  
_Then I said, “well, I should head back home,”_  
_She turned red, she led me to her bed_  
_Let her legs spread and said:_

[MARIA]  
_Stay?_

[HAMILTON]  
_Hey…_

[MARIA]  
_Hey…_

[HAMILTON]  
_That’s when I began to pray:_  
_Lord, show me how to_  
_Say no to this_  
_I don’t know how to_  
_Say no to this_

 _But my God, she looks so helpless_  
_And her body’s saying, “hell, yes”_

[MARIA]  
_Whoa..._

[HAMILTON]  
_Nooo, show me how to_

[HAMILTON/ENSEMBLE]  
_Say no to this_

[HAMILTON]  
_I don’t know how to_

[HAMILTON/ENSEMBLE]  
_Say no to this_

[HAMILTON]  
_In my mind, I’m tryin’ to go_

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Go! Go! Go!_

[HAMILTON]  
_Then her mouth is on mine, and I don’t say…_

[ENSEMBLE]  
_No! No!_  
_Say no to this!_  
_No! No!_  
_Say no to this!_  
_No! No!_  
_Say no to this!_  
_No! No!_  
_Say no to this!_

[HAMILTON]  
_I wish I could say that was the last time_  
_I said that last time. It became a pastime_  
_A month into this endeavor I received a letter_  
_From a Mr. James Reynolds, even better, it said:_

[REYNOLDS]  
_Dear Sir, I hope this letter finds you in good health_  
_And in a prosperous enough position to put wealth_  
_In the pockets of people like me: down on their luck_  
_You see, that was my wife who you decided to_

[HAMILTON]  
_Fuuuu—_

[REYNOLDS]  
_Uh-oh! You made the wrong sucker a cuckold_  
_So time to pay the piper for the pants you unbuckled_  
_And hey, you can keep seein’ my whore wife_  
_If the price is right: if not I’m telling your wife_

[HAMILTON]  
_I hid the letter and I raced to her place_  
_Screamed “How could you?!” in her face_  
_She said:_

[MARIA]  
_No, sir!_

[HAMILTON]  
_Half dressed, apologetic. A mess, she looked_  
_Pathetic, she cried:_

[MARIA]  
_Please don’t go, sir!_

[HAMILTON]  
_So was your whole story a setup?_

[MARIA]  
_I don’t know about any letter!_

[HAMILTON]  
_Stop crying_  
_Goddamnit, get up!_

[MARIA]  
_I didn’t know any better!_

[HAMILTON]  
_I am ruined..._

[MARIA]  
_Please don’t leave me with him, helpless—_

[HAMILTON]  
_I am helpless—how could I do this?_

[MARIA]  
_Just give him what he wants and you can have me—_

[HAMILTON]  
_I don’t want you—_

[MARIA]  
_Whatever you want,_

[HAMILTON]  
_I don’t want you_

[MARIA]  
_If you pay_  
_You can stay!_

[HAMILTON]  
_Lord, show me how to_  
_Say no to this_  
_I don’t know how to_  
_Say no to this_  
_Cuz the situation’s helpless_

_And her body’s screaming, “Hell, yes”_

_No, show me how to_  
_Say no to this_  
_How can I_  
_Say no to this?_  
_There is nowhere I can go_

_When her body’s on mine I do not say…_

_Say no to this…_  
_I don’t say no to this_  
_There is nowhere I can go._

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Go go go..._

[REYNOLDS]  
_So?_

[HAMILTON]  
_Nobody needs to know._

 **27\. Courtroom Battle #2  
**  
They all go at it again, Jefferson claims that a lot of stuff from last time was hearsay, it ends with a bit of a standoff. Ends with Hamilton introducing Sarah Bache.

 **28\. The Bache Testimony  
**  
Sarah presents the letters that her father left her and completely and utterly shoots down any attempts that the defense makes to derail her, it is brutal, way to go Sarah you’re the best. They adjourn for the day, and Jefferson leaves the courtroom still pretty upset.

**29\. What He Knows**

[HAMILTON]  
_Mr. President._  
_What is this?_

[JEFFERSON]  
_I have the check stubs. From separate accounts…_  
_Almost a thousand dollars, paid in different amounts…_  
_To a Mr. James Reynolds way back in_  
_1791._

[HAMILTON]  
_Is that what you have? Are you done?_

[JEFFERSON]  
_You were uniquely situated by virtue of your position—_  
_Though ‘virtue’ is not a word I’d apply to this situation—_  
_To seek financial gain, to stray from your sacred mission—_  
_And the evidence suggests you’ve engaged in speculation!_

 _An immigrant embezzling our government funds._  
_I told you I’d paint you dirty, your career is done._  
_I hope you saved some money for your daughter and sons,_  
_Ya best g'wan run back where ya come from!_

[HAMILTON]  
_Ha! You don’t even know what you’re asking me to confess._

[JEFFERSON]  
_Confess!_

[HAMILTON]  
_You have nothing. I don’t have to tell you anything at all,_  
_I possess—_

[JEFFERSON]  
_Possess?_

[HAMILTON]  
_Yeah, I have proof that I never broke the law,_  
_If you take this to the press, you’re the one who’ll fall—_

[MARIA]  
_No one else was in the room where it happened._

[JEFFERSON]  
_Then I wish you the best._

He walks out.

[HAMILTON]  
(Reaches into his desk and takes out a letter.)  
_“Dear Sir, I hope this letter finds you in good health_  
_And in a prosperous enough position to put wealth_  
_In the pockets of people like me: down on their luck_  
_You see, it was my wife who you decided to—”_

Hamilton takes a quill out and starts desperately writing on a sheet of paper.

 _She courted me_  
_Escorted me to bed and when she had me in a corner_  
_That’s when Reynolds extorted me_  
_For a sordid fee_  
_I paid him quarterly_  
_I may have mortally wounded my prospects_  
_But my papers are orderly!_  
_As you can see I kept a record of every check in my checkered_  
_History. Check it again against your list n’ see consistency_  
_I never spent a cent that wasn’t mine_  
_You sent the dogs after my scent, that’s fine_  
_Yes, I have reasons for shame_  
_But I have not committed treason and sullied my good name_  
_As you can see I have done nothing to provoke legal action_  
_Are my answers to your satisfaction?_

He looks around and realizes that there is no one else in the room, and shudders as the music fades, then puts both Reynolds’ letter and his own draft of the pamphlet back into his desk. The light fades from the desk as he walks in a circle around the stage; the turntable moves and he passes a lamp such to give the illusion that he’s walking and time is passing. A member of the ensemble walks past him holding a newspaper and there is a clear moment where the ensemble member eyes him head to toe. Hamilton snatches the paper, speed-reads it, then throws it to the ground and storms home the rest of the way. 

 **30\. Let It Go  
**  
So this came from the 2014 version of the musical, it was a song that was cut. I made a very slapped-together a cappella version of it so that you can tell what parts are singing vs speaking, it starts at the “What in the hell was that” a few lines in. <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9FZw0gRm_iFSDVUNGUxNk1sb1k/view?usp=sharing>

[ELIZA]  
_Are you coming to dinner?_

[ALEXANDER]  
_I need to finish writing this._

[ELIZA]  
Pulling the paper from him, holding it up beyond his reach.  
_You haven’t left this room all night. Just—_

[ALEXANDER]  
_Stands and snatches the paper back._  
_No!_  
_What in the hell was that?_  
_What in the hell are you trying to do?_  
_Don't you know that Jefferson’s been spreading slander right and left_  
_To humiliate me and to cement his coup?_  
_I will not let our family be embarrassed like this_  
_I'll grab a pen and paper, let the whole world know_  
_You swing at my family you better not miss_  
_You better have another punch to throw—_

[ELIZA]  
_You could let it go,_  
_Stay alive for me._  
_Let it go,_  
_Live to fight another day._  
_People will always be critical,_  
_They'll make the personal political,_  
_They'll try to knock you off your pedestal, your pinnacle;_  
_Let other people be cynical,_  
_Let it go._  
_You're smiling because you know I'm right._

[ALEXANDER]  
_Ha!_

[ELIZA]  
_And you know if that if Aaron were here he would say the same thing._

[ALEXANDER]  
_Well Aaron’s not here, that’s the whole—_

[ELIZA]  
_Would you listen to me for a minute?_  
_You didn't kill him did you?_

[ALEXANDER]  
_I might as well have._

[ELIZA]  
_Let it go,_  
_Stay alive for me._  
_Let it go,_  
_Let it slide right by._  
_You don't have to bring a gun to a knife fight_  
_It's not a case of your money or your life, right?_  
_You know you really oughta listen to your wife, right?_

[ALEXANDER]  
_I know._

[ELIZA]  
_So let it go._

[ALEXANDER]  
_I can’t._

 _Eliza—I don’t know how to say this._  
_The rumors are true,_  
_I betrayed our whole family,_  
_I betrayed you._

[ELIZA]  
_What?_

Alexander hands her back the paper he was working on, and she starts reading it.

[ALEXANDER]  
_So now you know_  
_That Philip died_  
_Protecting the honor_  
_Of a father who lied._

 _If I can do one thing right,_  
_If I can fix only this,_  
_Atone for another death,_  
_The bullet that should have hit me missed—_

[ELIZA]  
_You could let it go,_  
_Stay alive for me._

[ALEXANDER]  
_How could you say that?_

[ELIZA]  
_Let it go,_  
_Don’t my feelings matter too?_

[ALEXANDER]  
_Of course they do, but—_

[ELIZA]  
_Alexander, I’ve spent years watching you suffering,_  
_You want forgiveness, then you’ll take what I am offering,_  
_In sickness and in health you swore upon this ring,_  
_Well I’m not watching you destroy us anymore—_  
_You can let it go._

[ALEXANDER]  
_So what would you have me do?_

[ELIZA]  
_Be a part of this family again. Talk to me._

[ALEXANDER]  
_Starting with?_

[ELIZA]  
_Why you feel the need to bring a decade-old affair back into the minds of the public._

[ALEXANDER]  
_I thought I could clear our name._

[ELIZA]  
_You thought wrong._

[ALEXANDER]  
_Maybe you’re right._

[ELIZA]  
_Of course I’m right._

 _Look around, look around at how_  
_Lucky we are to be alive right now._  
_If somebody tries to lay you low_  
_Let it go._

_Now are you coming?_

[ALEXANDER]  
_What?_

[ELIZA]  
_To dinner._

[ALEXANDER]  
_I suppose._

Eliza glares.

_I mean. Of course. I’ll—I’ll come every night._

[ELIZA]  
_You owe the children ten years of summers upstate at my father’s._

[ALEXANDER]  
_You drive a hard bargain._

[ELIZA]  
_Do you really have a leg to stand on?_

[ALEXANDER]  
_No._

[ELIZA]  
_Then you can let it go._  

 **31\. Madison On Your Side**  
  
Jefferson is towards the front left of the stage, and the back right is dark with a single spotlight on Burr, who is pretty much haunting him. The staging and the lights are set up to portray that this song reflects Jefferson’s paranoia just as much if not more than the actual state of things.

[JEFFERSON]  
_It must be nice, it must be nice to have_  
_Madison on your side_  
_It must be nice, it must be nice to have_  
_Madison on your side_

_Ev’ry action has its equal, opposite reactions_  
_Thanks to Hamilton, our Senate’s fractured into factions_  
_Try not to crack under the stress, we’re breaking down like fractions_  
_We smack each other in the press, and we don’t print retractions_  
_I get no satisfaction witnessing his fits of passion_  
_The way he primps and preens and dresses like the pits of fashion._  
_Our own democracy, he threatens just so he can cash in._  
_In fact this trial could just be a planned distraction!_  
_This prick is askin’ for someone to bring him to task_  
_Somebody gimme some dirt on this vacuous mass so we can at last unmask him_  
_I’ll pull the trigger on him, someone load the gun and cock it_  
_I can’t believe that he got Madison inside his pocket._

[JEFFERSON AND BURR]  
_It must be nice, it must be nice to have_  
_Madison on your side_  
_It must be nice, it must be nice to have_  
_Madison on your side_

[JEFFERSON]  
_Aaron Burr is dead and gone._  
_They all took it in stride._  
_So what’s the price, so what’s the price?_  
_To have Madison on your side._

[BURR]  
_You have doubled the size of your government,_  
_Wasn’t the trouble with much of our previous government size?_  
_Can you meet his eyes?_  
_With all your lies?_

_You did it for your private enterprise._  
_Stamping your paranoia_  
_And purging the unloyal—_

_You think he’d aid and abetted it?_

[JEFFERSON]  
_I can’t just resign!_  
_Somebody has to stand up for the truth!_

[BURR]  
(aside to the audience)  
_Somebody tell him, “That someone ain’t you.”_

[JEFFERSON]  
_If there’s a fire you’re trying to douse_  
_Sometimes you have to forgo one House_

_I run the Senate, and they are complicit in_  
_Everything Hamilton’s attack is considering,_  
_If the public is going to listen_  
_to unlicensed dissidents, we’ll split the difference:_  
_our country is out!_

[BURR]  
_This future is the one that you chose!_  
_You thought you could control what everyone knows?_  
_It’s time to face what you are up against:_

[BURR/HAMILTON/MADISON]  
_Your old confederates are back to seek revenge!_

[BURR]  
_So follow this trial and see where it goes!_

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Oh!_

[BURR]  
_Because every second civil outrage grows._

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Oh!_

[BURR]  
_If you follow the threads, to see where it leads_  
_Get in the weeds, look for the seeds of_  
_your own misdeeds—_

[JEFFERSON]  
_It must be nice. It must be nice—_

[BURR]  
_You set the precedent, see where it goes._

[JEFFERSON]  
_It must be nice. It must be nice—_

[BURR]  
_The emperor has no clothes._  
_I won’t be invisible. I won’t be denied._

[JEFFERSON]  
(turning away from Burr, ignoring him.)  
_Still_  
_It must be nice, it must be nice to have_  
_Madison on your side._  

He exists the stage, and the light rises on the other side, to James sitting at a desk. Dolley walks in.

**32\. Just This Time**

[JAMES]  
_My dearest wife, you wanted to see me?_

[DOLLEY]  
_I know you’re busy._

[JAMES]  
_Never for you. What do you need, love?_

[DOLLEY]  
_I want to give you a word of warning._

[JAMES]  
_Dear, I don’t know what you heard_  
_But whatever it is, we can weather it._

[DOLLEY]  
_It’s not Jefferson, it’s you—and your mourning._

[JAMES]  
_My what?_

[DOLLEY]  
_Do me a favor._

[JAMES]  
_Has there been something in my behavior?_

[DOLLEY]  
_Shh. Talk less._

[JAMES]  
_If I’ve caused you distress—_  
_Whatever I can do for you for you, you know I need to see this through—_

[DOLLEY]  
_Perhaps just admit it’s a mess._

[JAMES]  
_Yes! Aaron’s dead, but we can clear his name—_

[DOLLEY]  
_No,_  
_You’re stepping up because you think this is how you’ll repent._

[JAMES]  
_I’m not sure what you’re saying._

[DOLLEY]  
_Aaron’s gone, only *you* think that you must repent._

[JAMES]  
_I’m sorry, what?_

[DOLLEY]  
_Just this time_  
_I wish you would talk with me._  
_Just this time,_  
_I’d say to let this go._  
_You have to learn one day to say goodbye,_  
_To say goodbye._  
_Just you and I—_

[JAMES]  
_Dolley, why?_

[DOLLEY]  
_I want to talk about your waning health._

[JAMES]  
_Dear, this time of year it always acts up, if you’d give it time—_

[DOLLEY]  
_This was a battle you weren’t meant to be fighting._

[JAMES]  
_But—_

[DOLLEY]  
_It’s Hamilton’s war he’s inciting._  
_And if you talk about what Burr deserved,_  
_This is the future that he spurned!_

[JAMES]  
_As far as the people are concerned,_  
_They need the truth! And we could give them the truth!_

[DOLLEY]  
_No!_  
_Just this time,_  
_You’re going to hear me._  
_Just this time,_  
_You’re going to let this go._  
_You need to get this right,_  
_Let me teach you how to say goodby—_  
_You and I._

[JAMES]  
_I owe Aaron Jefferson’s defeat._

[DOLLEY]  
_No, he is dead and gone._

[JAMES]  
_This situation is so unique._

[DOLLEY]  
_It’s been years, now you must move along._

[JAMES]  
_How could you ask to say goodbye?_

[DOLLEY]  
_If we say goodbye, our family gets to live on._  
_You’ll come back to me, our son, and our home._

_Like the scripture says:_  
_“Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree_  
_And no one shall make them afraid.”_  
_They’ll be safe in the nation we’ve made_  
_I want to sit under my own vine and fig tree_  
_A moment alone in the shade_  
_No more battles or blood to be paid._  
_Just this time._

[JAMES]  
_Just this time._

(spoken)

_In reviewing the incidents of this trial, and its subsequent effects on myself and my family, I regret to inform you that I will be withdrawing my public and private support for your position and retiring to Montpelier for the foreseeable future._

_I leave you with all previous evidence that I have donated to your cause, and the hope that you might find peace doing what you will with it. I can no longer engage in such activities that Aaron Burr would have aggressively disapproved of, under the guise of clearing his name, as a poorly disguised attempt at achieving redemption. I would rather accept what I have done that contributed to his death, and respect the requests he left us with._

(Dolley joins him, singing to echo his spoken words.)

_I anticipate with little hesitation that the retreat to which I have promised myself shall be no simple undertaking, yet for the sake of my fellow citizens and those dearest to me, I will no longer challenge our free government because of the torment buried within my own heart. I trust that Aaron Burr knew more than I gauge the worth of our despair, of the labors and dangers inescapable in the creation of a new nation._

[ENSEMBLE]  
_James Madison’s going home!_

[JAMES]  
_Teach me how to say goodbye_

[DOLLEY]  
_You and I_

[BURR]  
_History has its eyes on you._

(and, with the typical ensemble backing throughout,)

[DOLLEY]  
_Let me teach you how to_  
_Say goodbye!_  
_Teach you how to say goodbye!_  
_To say goodbye!_

_Just this time!_

**33\. In Which Madison Tells Hamilton He’s Out.  
**  
Probably to the tune of Schuyler Defeated. Hamilton’s like “WTF but I was ready to take down Congress too!!!!”

 **34\. In Which Hamilton Goes And Bugs Maria For The Documents That Will Implicate The Rest Of Congress**  
  
He unfortunately does this by trying to flirt a bit and she goes “FUCK YOU.”

**35\. Satisfied**

[MARIA]  
_Go ahead, storm out!_  
_That's what I'm talking about!_  
_Alexander Hamilton,_  
_a man of such honor._

_You’d dare to assume—_  
_No, I have pride!_  
_You think your mistress_  
_Would really take your side?_

_Your delusion—_  
_You left me by the wayside._  
_I’m not so easily_  
_Satisfied._

_—REWIND—_

Flashing lights, turntables turn, and it ends with the set looking a bit like an office with Burr sitting at the single desk.

_I remember that night, I just might_  
_Regret that night for the rest of my days_  
_I remember my husband’s bruises,_  
_I walked into your law office in a daze._  
_I remember the scene, cut so clean, memories_  
_Like a dream that you can’t quite place_  
_But dearest Aaron, I’ll never forget the first_  
_Time I saw your face_

_I have never been the same_  
_You looked in my eyes, and you saw through my pain,_  
_Said you’d take my case, you had nothing to gain,_  
_But you knew my name, knew before I came—_

[FULL COMPANY]  
_This is not a game._

[AARON]  
(walks around the desk so that he’s standing in front of her)  
_You strike me as a woman who has never been treated right._

[MARIA]  
_I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. You forget yourself._

[AARON]  
_You’re like me. Victory is a losing fight._

[MARIA]  
_Is that right?_

[AARON]  
_Have you ever been satisfied?_

[MARIA]  
_My name is Maria Reynolds._

[AARON]  
_And you know I’m Aaron Burr._

[MARIA]  
(stepping into Burr's personal space)  
_I came to beg your service, sir._

[AARON]  
_Don’t mind payment, please consider it already done._  
_You needn’t wait, needn’t wait._

[MARIA]  
_And I know—_  
_That this is what it feels like to deal with_  
_Someone who wants something, what the hell is the catch, it’s—_  
_The pretense of freedom, he’s using my plight,_  
_He’ll come to me in the cover of night, you see it, right?_

_The conversation lasted two minutes, maybe three minutes_  
_Ev’rything he said seemed perfectly inn’cent, it’s_  
_A dream and it’s a bit of a dance_  
_A bit of a posture, it’s a bit of a stance. He’s not_  
_Quite a good flirt, but I’m ‘a give it a chance._  
_I asked him what he wanted, did you see his answer?_  
_His hands started fidgeting, he looked askance._  
_He’s using me, he’s flying by the seat of his pants_

_Desperate, and boy does he know it,_  
_Awkward, though he tries not to show it._  
_I wanna run off, far away from this place_  
_Then I turn and see my daughter’s face and she is…_

[SUSAN]  
_Helpless…_

[MARIA]  
_And I know she is…_

[SUSAN]  
_Helpless…_

[MARIA]  
_And her eyes are just…_

[SUSAN]  
_Helpless…_

[MARIA]  
_And I realize_

[MARIA AND COMPANY]  
_Three fundamental truths as precious time slips by—_

[MARIA]  
_What would you ask of me?_

[AARON]  
_I would trust you with my life._

[MARIA]  
_Then by all means, continue on._

[COMPANY]  
_Number one!_

[MARIA]  
_I’m a girl in a world in which_  
_I’d only thrive if I’d married rich,_  
_I’m at the mercy of men,_  
_Who use me and then,_  
_Leave me destitute, in a ditch_

_As I grow older, I lose my comeliness_  
_And the winter in the City is_  
_Deadlier than this—_  
_Me and my daughter, we’re penniless,_  
_There is nothing I can say but yes_

(spoken)  
_It’s a pleasure to help you, just tell me what to do._

[AARON]  
_I have some documents that I’d like you to hold for me. I can pay you monthly sums to make sure they’re kept safe and not found._

[COMPANY]  
_Number two!_

[MARIA]  
_As the months went on, he kept his bargain better_  
_Than he had ever pledged and I’d_  
_Have to be naive to not wonder why,_  
_He took me aside,_  
_Trusted me with his secrets,_  
_Stood terrified—_  
_Let me pass my own judgement,_  
_He was right,_  
_Though I thought I was satisfied._

[AARON]  
_I’m very sorry that I dragged you into this mess._

[MARIA]  
_I’m happy to help you._

[AARON]  
_History might not thank you for what you do for me._

[MARIA]  
_But I’ll still do it._

[COMPANY]  
_Number three!_

[MARIA]  
_Now I know Aaron like I know my own mind,_  
_You will never find anyone as clever or as kind_  
_If he knew one more person loved him,_  
_He’d be silently resigned,_  
_He’d be mine—_  
_For a time—_  
_He would say, “I’m fine”_

[MARIA AND COMPANY]  
_He’d be lying_

[MARIA]  
_But when I fantasize at night_  
_It’s Aaron by my side_  
_As I romanticize what might_  
_Have been if his sacrifice_  
_Hadn’t come so quickly._  
_At least he could rely in his life_  
_On what I now provide, through this strife._

_So please, just assume—_  
_No, it’s implied_  
_That in hist’ry_  
_I’ll be left by the wayside_

_The delusion—_  
_That I’d matter your mind_  
_That I ought to_  
_Be satisfied._

_And I know_  
_He was ready when he died,_  
_And I know_  
_He will never be satisfied,_  
_I will never be satisfied._

**36\. Hurricane.**  
  
Hamilton is back on stage. Same setup as our real-world version of Hurricane. (Also, these are basically the same lyrics, the only change is “ _this is the only way I can protect my legacy_ ” —> “ _this is the only way I can protect his legacy._ ”)

[HAMILTON]  
_In the eye of a hurricane_  
_There is quiet_  
_For just a moment_  
_A yellow sky_

_When I was seventeen a hurricane_  
_Destroyed my town_  
_I didn’t drown_  
_I couldn’t seem to die_

_I wrote my way out_  
_Wrote everything down far as I could see_  
_I wrote my way out_  
_I looked up and the town had its eyes on me_

_They passed a plate around_  
_Total strangers_  
_Moved to kindness by my story_  
_Raised enough for me to book passage on a_  
_Ship that was New York bound…_

_I wrote my way out of hell_  
_I wrote my way to revolution_  
_I was louder than the crack in the bell_  
_I wrote Eliza love letters until she fell_  
_I wrote about The Constitution and defended it well_  
_And in the face of ignorance and resistance_  
_I wrote financial systems into existence_  
_And when my prayers to God were met with indifference_  
_I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance_

_In the eye of a hurricane_  
_There is quiet_  
_For just a moment_  
_A yellow sky_

_I was twelve when my mother died_  
_She was holding me_  
_We were sick and she was holding me_  
_I couldn’t seem to die_

[BURR]  
_Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it…_

[HAMILTON]  
_I’ll write my way out…_

[BURR AND ENSEMBLE]  
_Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it…_

[HAMILTON]  
_Write ev’rything down, far as I can see…_

[MARSHALL/ ELIZA/ DOLLEY/ MARIA]  
_History has its eyes on you_

[HAMILTON]  
_I’ll write my way out…_  
_Overwhelm them with honesty._  
_This is the eye of the hurricane, this is the only_  
_Way I can protect his legacy…_

[COMPANY (EXCEPT HAMILTON)]  
(swiftly moving off stage, leaving Hamilton alone in center stage)  
_Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait…_

[HAMILTON]  
(panting as the music fades completely)  
_I need Madison…_

 **37\. Our Shot (Reprise)**  
  
Hamilton tries to convince Madison, Madison leaves him with an “I’ll think about it.” This one is a lot less upbeat than the first version of “Our Shot,” and is designed all around the “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory” section. Hamilton’s stopped pretending this is about justice and is ready to fully admit that it’s about revenge. Hamilton makes it very clear— _I don’t need you, just give me what he left you and I’ll burn it all down. You may have given up, but I am not throwing away my shot at this._

 **38\. Burn**  
  
Hamilton leaves, and James transitions to sitting on a bench, holding the same letters that Eliza usually has. Same lights and staging as our Burn.

[JAMES]  
_I saved every letter you wrote me,_  
_To live up to your vision_  
_to trust me with time,_  
_You’d trust me with time,_  
_You gave me your time._

_Did you know that I’d stand here one day?_  
_Did you plan this when you were alive?_  
_I know—you were ready to leave me but_  
_Were you really so ready to die?_

_You left your words,_  
_You left me everything—_  
_Your sentences leave me defenseless,_  
_You dreamed a future_  
_More than what I could dream,_  
_Dreamed for our people—_

_I’m re-reading the letters you wrote me_  
_I’m searching and scanning for answers_  
_In every line_  
_For some kind of sign_  
_If this is the time—_  
_I’d let the world_  
_Burn_  
_Burn_

_I’ve hoarded the letters you wrote me,_  
_I’ve robbed the whole world of your visions_  
_you left in your stead;_  
_Now in clearing your name,_  
_have I ruined your life?_

_All I know is I promised that day—_  
_When you refused to run, you said_  
_That our nation was delicate,_  
_And that I must protect what we’ve done,_

_You and your words,_  
_Obsessed with their legacy,_  
_Your loyalty borders on senseless,_  
_Why would you give it all—_  
_For a nation—_  
_That would betray you—_  
_You, you, you—_

_I’m removing myself from this narrative,_  
_The future bestowed on these people,_  
_and the hopes that you drafted_  
_Were yours from the start_  
_And they tore it all apart,_  
_No, I’ll watch them burn—_  
_Burn,_

_The world has no right to your heart,_  
_The world has no claim to your head,_  
_Let Hamilton write what you said,_  
_I’m keeping the memories,_  
_Keeping these letters_  
_That might have redeemed them—_  
_They forfeit all rights to your life,_  
_They forfeit the visions you left,_  
_They forfeit what I won’t divest,_  
_And I’ll keep your memories,_  
_Now your dream is mine—_

_I hope that they_  
_Burn._

**39\. The Jefferson Pamphlet**  
  
All the papers about the trial and proving the false testimonies that Senators and Representatives were ready to give and just a bunch of other incriminating documents from Burr all get released. I’ve written bits and pieces of what it might look like down for you:

[FULL COMPANY]  
_The Jefferson Pamphlet_

[ALEXANDER/JAMES/MARSHALL]  
_Have you read this?_

[ALEXANDER/JAMES]  
_Pres’dent Thomas Jefferson had a torrid affair,_  
_And the proof of it is right there!_

[ALEXANDER]  
_Highlights!_

[ALEXANDER/JEFFERSON]  
_The charge against Burr_  
_is the foreknowledge of the future_  
_withheld from our own government._

_The real crime was a_  
_long-running con carried out by_  
_our own President and a portion of Congress_  
_for a considerable time,_  
_and in public contempt._

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Damn!_

and, of course:

[JEFFERSON]  
_Madison, I thought you were_  
_Someone who understands what I’m_  
_Struggling here to do_

[JAMES]  
_I’m not here for you_

[ENSEMBLE]  
_Oooooh!_

[JAMES]  
_I knew dear Aaron like I know my own mind,_  
_You could never find anyone as selfless or as kind._  
_Aaron gave us everything and more with his life—_  
_I will choose his mem’ry over mine every time!_

_Put what we had aside_  
_I’m standing at his side_  
_You could never be satisfied_  
_God, I hope you’re satisfied._

and Jefferson is indeed never gonna stay President now.

**40\. Best of Wives and Best of Women**

[ELIZA]  
_Alexander, come back to sleep._

[HAMILTON]  
_Did I just run our nation aground?_

[ELIZA]  
_The sun still will rise._

[HAMILTON]  
_I know. It rises even though he’s not around._

[ELIZA]  
_Why do you grieve, every second of your time?_

[HAMILTON]  
_Shhh_

[ELIZA]  
_They’d want you to live. You have done enough._

[HAMILTON]  
_What will last when I am likewise gone?_

[ELIZA]  
_Come back to sleep._

[HAMILTON]  
_I’d rather watch the dawn._

[ELIZA]  
_Then move over, let me take a seat._

[HAMILTON]  
_Hey. Best of wives and best of women._

(and I can't resist leaving a note here that would be like a Genius Annotation or whatever--the line " _I know. It rises even though he’s not around"_ can refer to either Philip or Burr and is specifically left ambiguous. That's why Eliza uses " _They'd want you to live_ " in her next line.)

 **41\. The Conclusion of the Trial**  
  
Jefferson and everyone who helped him are found guilty and impeached. It’s very dramatic. There’s a lot of worry about whether or not the nation will survive that various characters, including Maria, express. Burr watches from above, silent.

**42\. Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story**

[AARON]  
_Let me tell you what I wish I’d known_  
_When my life stretched out before me._  
_You have no control:_

[AARON AND COMPANY]  
_Who lives, who dies, who tells your story._

[MARIA]  
_President Jefferson:_

[JEFFERSON]  
_I’ll give him this, his legacy was a work of genius._  
_I couldn’t undo it if I tried. God, I tried._

[COMPANY]  
_Who lives, who dies, who tells your story._

[MARIA]  
_Dolley Payne Todd Madison:_

[DOLLEY]  
_He took our country beyond what it could have been._  
_He could never get enough credit_  
_for the future he gave us._

[COMPANY]  
_Who lives, who dies, who tells your story._

[MARIA AND ELIZA]  
_Every other founding father’s story unfolds,_  
_Every other founding father gets to grow old._

[DOLLEY]  
_But when you’re gone, who remembers your name?_  
_Who keeps your flame?_

[COMPANY]  
_Who tells you story—_  
_Who tells your story?_

[WOMEN]  
_But Jemmy—_

[JAMES]  
_I put myself back in the narrative._

[WOMEN]  
_Dear Jemmy_

[JAMES]  
_I stop wasting time on fears,_  
_I live another thirty years,_  
_It’s not enough._

[COMPANY]  
_And Jemmy—_

[JAMES]  
_I rally ev’ry politician who stood by your side_

[ALEXANDER, MARSHALL, AND MALE COMPANY]  
_We heed your stories._

[JAMES]  
_I try to make sense of your hundreds of pages of writings,_  
_Glean any insight, of what awaits us in—_

[JAMES AND COMPANY]  
_Time_

[JAMES]  
_I rely on—_

[JAMES, DOLLEY, ELIZA, AND ALEXANDER]  
_The Hamiltons_

[JAMES]  
_While we’re alive—_

[JAMES, DOLLEY, ELIZA, AND ALEXANDER]  
_We tell your story_

[DOLLEY]  
_They protected your letters_

[JAMES, DOLLEY, ELIZA, AND ALEXANDER]  
_For you_

[JAMES]  
_When you needed them most, they were right on—_

[JAMES, DOLLEY, ELIZA, ALEXANDER, AND COMPANY]  
_Time_

[JAMES]  
_And I’m still not through_  
_I know what you promised to do if you had more—_

[JAMES AND COMPANY]  
_Time_

[JAMES]  
_The Lord, in his kindness_  
_He gives us what you always wanted,_  
_He gives us more—_

[JAMES AND COMPANY]  
_Time_

[JAMES]  
_I campaign in D.C. for your full exculpation_

[ALEXANDER]  
_He tells your story_

[JAMES]  
_I speak out against slavery_  
_You could have done so much more if you only had—_

[JAMES AND COMPANY]  
_Time_

[JAMES]  
_And when my time is up, have I done enough?_

[JAMES]                                          [COMPANY]  
_Will they tell our story?_             _Will they tell your story?_

[JAMES]  
_Oh. Can I show you what I’m proudest of?_

[COMPANY]  
_Our nation lives._

[JAMES]  
_I’m elected the fifth lawful President of our new nation._

[COMPANY]  
_Our nation lives._

[JAMES]  
_I help see hundreds of bills passed,_  
_I see our dreams becoming law._

[COMPANY]  
_Our nation lives._

[JAMES]  
_Every day, my hope grows, dearest Aaron,_  
_I wonder every—_

[JAMES AND COMPANY]  
_Time_

[JAMES]  
_That when my time is up_  
_Have I done enough?_

[JAMES, DOLLEY, ALEXANDER, ELIZA, AND MARIA]  
(stepping forward into a line across the front of the stage, James in the center)  
_Will they tell our story?_

[JAMES]  
_Oh, I can’t wait to see you again_  
_It’s only a matter of—_

[JAMES AND COMPANY]  
_Time._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun extra content: [lostnebula13](https://lostnebula13.tumblr.com/) had Really Good Ideas for a version of "What'd I Miss" that if _The World Turned Upside Down_ in the previous chapter hadn't already dealt with Lafayette returning to America and being ready for the trial, almost definitely would have gone up instead of _No John Trumbull_ for the opening of Act 2. So if you're interested in what we co-wrote, you can find it here! 
> 
> [https://lostnebula13.tumblr.com/post/163547359715/](https://lostnebula13.tumblr.com/post/163547359715/a-lafayette-version-of-whatd-i-miss-for-the)
> 
> (I also still exist on tumblr, I've just changed my url to <http://savrenim.tumblr.com/>)


	4. Conclusion + Notes

So yeah, that’s the musical!

Much like our timeline and the second timeline, it’s wildly popular. There are some really great things too: even moreso than our _Hamilton_ and women and the question of whether or not it is a "feminist" musical what with Eliza preserving Hamilton’s legacy, the Eliza-Angelica-Hamilton love triangle never really being a love triangle and being all about Angelica loving her sister, and LMM saying that Angelica was the smartest person in the show, and Eliza (at least how Philip Soo played her) absolutely commanding the stage both with her presence and with the Burn/It’s Quiet Uptown/Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story defining the overarching narrative, _Burr: An American Musical_ legit features women in the most important roles right up there beside the men. It’s Maria who’s narrating the whole show. Dolley plays a huge part in advising Madison politically. Eliza’s role is still reasonably large in terms of calling Alexander on his shit, but she does that successfully and is in no way a victim, Sarah Bache gives one of the most important testimonies, like. The women aren’t in this show only for romantic and familial storylines, they’re right in the heart of the politics. Portraying women as the people who flat-out shaped the most important event in defining what American was post-Revolution and Constitution from direct action to the amount that the men in the musical depend on the women before structuring their actions makes _Burr_ an actively feminist narrative.

The highlighting of Maria Reynolds—okay, Maria Lewis Reynolds Clingman Matthew, she’s so much more than Maria _Reynolds_ and she isn’t known for the affair at all in this timeline, and the telling of _her_ story throughout all of this is one of the newest things from this musical in regards to how people viewed the historical events of the trial before and after said musical came out. Maria is usually completely lost to history, a note on the bottom of the page of “Maria Matthew preserved Aaron Burr’s documents before she passed them onto James Madison” and she’s otherwise completely ignored. Like, she’s a cool character in fictional stories/novelizations/TV shows about the period, but also is sidelined most of the time, she exists completely in the background, it really sucks. So this musical is absolutely huge in reviving interest in Maria Matthew and her entire life story (there’s an outline of her entire life story irl post-Reynolds at the bottom of this page, because also irl Maria doesn't get enough credit and was _so badass_ ). There is an immense and inevitable amount of shipping her and Burr, especially because of the emphasis that the musical kind of puts on her leaving her husband just so she could stay in the US near Burr and songs like _Satisfied_ , but hey, you can’t have everything. (To be fair there’s an immense amount of shipping of everyone with Burr) (This whole musical is kind of five different people all going “we’re so hung up over Aaron Burr and it’s either destroying us or our families and this is us trying to get revenge and clear his name”) (So there’s plenty of textual backing to ship kind of _anyone_ with Burr) (Maria x Dolley also for some reason becomes an instant fave)

There’s an immense amount of heated debate about whether or not Madison is an unforgivably problematic historical figure (and, depending on whether or not you believe any of the other characters in this musical read all of Burr’s predictions that he left behind), beyond just the _Hamilton_ problem of “these were all either slave owners, families who directly made their fortunes from the slave trade, or people who benefitted from the status quo”, because Aaron Burr wrote extensive and explicit doomsday predictions about the Civil War. While he didn’t describe any particular battles, he successfully hit all of the events leading up to the Civil War as well as the bloodshed, death, and destruction in the Civil War—some of the imagery he used directly described famous Timothy O'Sullivan war photographs—regardless, despite preserving and _publishing_ all of Aaron Burr’s other predictions post War of 1812, including the seemingly nonsensical ones, Madison  & co specifically hid and did _not_ publish Burr’s Civil War predictions. While Madison did speak out against slavery somewhat and slowly free his slaves over the course of ~15 years, there was none of the public pushing for policy and releasing of Burr’s writing that caused women’s suffrage to happen in 1830s. So there are a large number of people under the opinion that Madison or anyone else with access to those documents _could_ have done a lot more, could have ended slavery if they’d pushed for it, and chose not to for self-serving interests. There is another large faction of historians and amateur tumblr historians who argue back that trust in our nation’s stability was so weak post all of the trials and scandals that releasing any sort of knowledge of visions that releasing any of Aaron Burr’s visions about the country tearing itself apart would have undermined everything that Burr was trying so hard to do—to keep the nation together—and that the effect on the public psyche would have been irreparable and the country almost definitely would have split at the very least into the North and South, if not smaller divisions, and Madison was incredibly politically astute and knew this and so did what he could to promote the end of slavery without letting anything slip that could fracture the nation. You can imagine the sort of fights the internet gets into over this, it’s very much not pretty.

Anyways, enough discourse.

One of the most interesting aspects of the musical, as you may have noticed, is the _role_ of Aaron Burr. Despite being the title character, if one studies all of the songs very carefully, he’s characterized slightly differently depending on who’s singing about him. He isn’t one coherent person anymore, he’s a collection of memories, a collection of might-have-beens, a combination of the things that he left behind and what he was to each of these people that cared so much about him, like, Maria’s underlying theme of “we’re preserving you for all of history but at what cost, the more that you’re becoming this mythical figure, the more that we all lose you” is really cemented by LOJ’s absolutely stellar performance, like, there are so many little things, between body language and facial expressions but also inherent in the writing the style of the songs and the different underlying chord progressions depending on _whose_ Burr is onstage that just really highlights this all in and lends to the feeling of utter _loss_ at the end even though the good guys win, like, the trial is successful, the nation lives, they accomplish everything, but he’s still gone, and more than gone, he’s fading because they all go about trying to hold onto him wrong, it’s not until _Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story_ where Madison starts trying to work to accomplish what Aaron wanted to accomplish that it feels like anything that was Aaron is surviving. In a story about moving on, no one does. 

So yeah, it’s really, really heartbreaking. Oak wins Best Lead Actor for his portrayal of Madison, it’s great. Everyone cries so much about it.

If you would like to reach the most meta level of all metas, someone asked what _it feels more like a memory_ would look like in this timeline with timeline-3 version of me having heard timeline-3 version of the musical which I just wrote, so if you’re interested, here you go: <http://savrenim.tumblr.com/post/158449285416/>

 

HISTORICAL THINGS THAT WERE REAL REGARDING MARIA REYNOLDS  
—Maria Reynolds did marry Jacob Clingman shortly after divorcing James Reynolds. From what I’ve found, Clingman was her lover even while she was with Reynolds, and was instrumental in revealing the Reynolds affair in that he saw Hamilton leaving the Reynolds house a few times, and dropping off slips of paper there angrily. Clingman brought this to the attention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Frederick Muhlenberg (who was super cool in and of himself, he was a mild Federalist and the first signer of the Bill of Rights, he was the one who suggested to call the President “Mr. President” instead of John Adams’s “His High Mightiness” or “His Elected Majesty”), after Clingman witnessed Reynolds getting thrown in jail and Hamilton using his influence to get Reynolds released and was certain that Hamilton had been speculating, and Muhlenberg roped James Monroe and Abraham Venable into confronting Hamilton, Monroe thought Jefferson would get a kick out of the letters and sent copies to Jefferson, and the rest is history

—anyways, Clingman had worked with Muhlenberg in his mercantile house in Philadelphia, and Muhlenberg had the opinion that Clingman was a good and honest man, so I’m going to _hope_ that it was a happy marriage 

—when the Reynolds affair broke, she and Clingman went to England, where he was an accountant

—she eventually broke up with Clingman (I think around 1802? I couldn’t find an exact date) and came back to Philadelphia, where Aaron Burr helped her out and she adopted the name “Maria Clement”, and worked as a housekeeper and nurse for Dr. Thomas Matthew. She married Matthew in 1807.

—Aaron Burr arranged and paid for schooling for her daughter

—she died in 1832 at age 62

—she gave her memoir to William Duane of the _Aurora_ to publish but he lost it, so blame him that we don’t know more about her

—originally I wrote this note about why I was using the name “Clement” but Maria Reynolds was super cool and you all deserve to know a bunch about her. In this fic she never needed to go to England because the Reynolds affair never became public, but instead broke up with Clingman when he wanted to go because she wanted to stay for Aaron, and skipped straight to the Philly/Clement part of her IRL story 

—Maria Reynolds is just really really important okay

—That is your history lesson for the day

 

**The Lancelot Poll Continues:**

**_Voting_** :  
FRENCH: 30.5  
ENGLISH: 39  
It Is Very Complicated Because There Wasn’t An Obvious Division Between France And England Territory Was Where And Changed When Different People Were Kings And Stuff: 17.5  
Britonic: 1  
Lindersfarne (which is in Northumberland, Unfortunately in England): 4  
Welsh: 1  
Magical Fairy*: 36  
The Lake (of the Lady of the Lake): 0.5  
Agent Sent By The Goddess of Discord: 0.5  
Origin and Nationality are Different Things: 5  
Dual Citizenship France and England: 1  
French Region: 1  
Axolotl:1

 **Latin Pronunciation:**  
Classical: 1  
Medieval: 5  
Ecclesiastical Latin: 1

~~I’m strongly considering calling the Latin poll off because y’all seem to have come to a consensus in the early results~~

 

Finally, in regards to life and updates: I’ve got the next chapter of _ifmlam_ almost entirely written, it will hopefully be posted soon? My summer has gone very differently than I thought it would, and I’m dealing with a number of pressures that I didn’t think I’d be dealing with, and writing an updating _ifmlam_ takes an immense amount of time and energy and research that I do not always have, especially with graduate school coming up. My updates will be as fast as possible, but I have no idea how fast that will be. I have no intention of dropping this story, but there are a _lot_ of other things that I am trying to juggle right now.

That being said, I am immensely grateful for what comments are being left, but in the past I have spent almost as much time answering comments as I have spent writing new chapters, and I will no longer be able to do that. I still read and treasure every comment! And if there are any pressing questions or clarifications that you leave in your comments, I will try my best to get to them and answer them. I’m also always happy to try to talk to people on tumblr/answer questions there, time permitting; my blog has changed to <http://savrenim.tumblr.com/>. But I will no longer be able to respond to everything. 

Thank you so much, and I hope to update _ifmlam_ soon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I exist on tumblr <http://savrenim.tumblr.com/>


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